Irish Governmental Ministers' Pay Rise

We've been on fire about political pay raises. And, of course, Bertie Ahern is the one in the firing line. The pay raise has been defended by pointing out that it brings politicians' pay into line with their equivalents in the private sector. Furthermore, it's been argued that Bertie Ahern is a hard worker, so deserves a good pay rise. The only criticism I've heard is that it's bad timing that these pay increases come when Ireland is on the threshold of (at best) an economic slow down and (at worst) a possible recession.
Some questions:
Bertie Ahern is a hard worker. But has he worked harder than Tony Blair or Gordon Brown? Tony left office on a salary of £187,611 (which, I believe is Gordon's current salary). Bertie Ahern's €310,000 translates to £216,110.012. In the past five years, Bertie Ahern has run:

• a slowly ailing economy
• a health service so much in 'crisis' that it's now a cliché
• a rise in anti-social behaviour (commonly associated with a lack of decent community facilities)
• a laughable transport infrastructure
• and one drunk TD driving up the wrong side of a dual carriageway.

Outside of the last point, I guess Tony Blair has done much the same. Although he's also:

• invaded two countries
• spent some time staving off dissent in his party
• and developed one of the most unionised left-wing parties in Europe into one of the most unionised right-wing parties in Europe

Maybe having a drunk minister drive the wrong way up a dual carriageway is worth £28,499.12 (€40,880.69). But I'd believe it's fair to say Tony's been up to a bit more. Plus Tony, 'working for the people' means 'working for' 60m people. Bertie 'works for' just the 4m. Unless Ireland has become some kind of Boutique nation, this just doesn't seem right.

The other question is whether government workers' pay should be brought into line with that of the private sector. It seems fair enough - same pay for the same job. Except that this doesn't take into account the pensions and day-to-day risks.
Civil service pensions, being index linked, are generally worth an awful lot more than the private pensions the rest of us are privileged to pay for.
Furthermore, private sector pay is high because those working in the private sector 'enjoy' a bizarre existence: make more money or make no money. If someone (especially in the 'management level' that the Irish Government ministers are at) couldn't cut the slack at their job, they'd be fired. I understand some merchant bankers have been fired not for losing money, but for not making enough money - they didn't reach targets. Government ministers and civil servants don't face such risks.
Government ministers could be fired (i.e. voted out of office) in the morning, but so could any of us. And if a government minister were voted out of office in the morning, they'd still get their 'government ministerial pension', which is linked to the current pay for the minister in that position. A private sector manager could hope for a shit-eating grin, a soulless reference and a hope that someone in the business community doesn't really know why they were fired. Maybe a huge payout would also be in order, but this is up to the business in question to provide.
Put simply, while both politics and private business have risks to contend with, the consolations of a political life are more of a comfort than those of private business.
I wonder whether this is a case of the government raiding the silverware before the house has to go up for sale?